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The Communiqué News

Kendrick Lamar's highly anticipated album 'Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers' released

Washington [US], May 15: Kendrick Lamar's new album 'Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers', which was eagerly awaited by the fans, is finally out now.


Swati Bhat

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Album Cover


The album has come just two days after he revealed the album cover on Instagram on Wednesday. Clicked by photographer Renell Medrano, the cover garnered immense support from fans and celebrities as well. As per The Hollywood Reporter, Roddy Ricch; producers MixedByAli and Mike Will Made-It, actors Yara Shahidi and Keith Powers along with many more liked and commented on the post.

Shouting out Lamar's California hometown, Ricch commented, "Compton Jesus." Prior to releasing the album cover, Lamar released his song 'the Heart Part 5' with an accompanying music video. The visuals are a close-up of the rapper 'spitting bars' through the song's entirety as his face morphs into the likes of O.J. Simpson, Kanye West, Jussie Smollett, Kobe Bryant, Will Smith and Nipsey Hussle.

In 2018, Kendrick's album 'DAMN' earned a Pulitzer Prize in music. To date, the rapper has appeared on the Billboard Hot 100 chart 50 times, scoring eight top 10 entries and two No. 1 hits -- with his solo track "Humble" and his feature on Taylor Swift's tune "Bad Blood."


Nigerian Artist “Draws” Hyperrealistic Portraits by Burning Wood

Nigeria, May 15: Nigerian artist Alex Peter Idoko creates exquisite drawings without the use of a pencil, pen, or paintbrush.


Pritish Bagdi

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Instead, the 30-year-old artist utilizes pyrography—or wood burning—to bring his subjects to life. With this unconventional technique, he masterfully renders the delicate textures of people's skin and hair with fire until they resemble hyperrealistic portraits.

Originally, from Lagos, Nigeria, Idoko has been passionate about portrait art since he was a student. While his practice began in graphite, charcoal, and pastel, he eventually gravitated towards pyrography art for its powerful visual effects. This process requires him to torch the surface of wood until he achieves the desired darkness, occasionally relying on a razor to scrape away excess. His portfolio of work ranges from conventional portraiture to surrealist depictions emphasizing Black stories.

“Idoko's works reference African realities, he primarily concerns himself with writing, rebranding, and editing the Black story by bringing to the limelight Blacks of every continent while accessing issues and challenges that surround them and also setting positive images that would serve as a bearing to the new generation [of] African/Blacks born and unborn,” it says on the artist's website. “These artworks are created to lend voice to all who lack the power to speak in the public domain about sensitive issues that affect humanity, which he then skillfully executes as realism.”

You can purchase prints of Idoko's artwork via his website, and keep up to date with the artist's latest projects by following him on Instagram.




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